- Buick ran a print ad that got people to a website, then users watched a video, but after the video, there was no call to action and nowhere to go.
- Goldman Sachs ran a print campaign that pushed people to a video, but it was very clearly self promotional and didn't explain any value to the viewer. Also, Goldman suffered from the same call to action issue as Buick, giving users nowhere to go once the video concluded thus losing valuable potential leads.
- Grant Thornton had a print campaign with a dense code (which makes it hard for smartphones to scan), and then the landing page is mobile optimized, but the video they're asked to watch is not. Lastly, there is a "click here" button on the page that brings the user back to the corporate page -- that also is not optimized for mobile.
From the article:
Over the past couple of years, the number of 2D bar codes used in print, out-of-home, in-store, package, direct mail, and event advertising has been steadily on the rise. One of the reasons for this growth is that companies are realizing that 2D bar code technology (i.e., QR codes, Microsoft Tags, data matrices, action codes, print-to-mobile codes, etc. -- call them what you will) offers a new and different way by which they can connect and interact with an existing or prospective customer on a truly personal level. And they can do so via the first screen -- the mobile phone.
However, there is a vast difference between simply placing a 2D bar code in a campaign and having that same bar code deliver results that truly mean something to the targeted...